Safe car parking (1-3 weeks) while cycling

Why don't you return your rental car to the rental company as you leave for your bicycle trip? Then rent another car upon your return.

the cost for a drop-off in another country far exceeds the cost of keeping the car for the entire time... believe me we have exhausted the alternatives... now we just need to know about parking and this information is extremely difficult to get..

Have you tried Googling Mosel tourism? Or googling the town in which you are staying? I did a quick search and found Moselland tourism sight which mentioned biking and they had a "contact" function. I am sure there is a TI or chamber of commerce somewhere online that can help.

I think it would be helpful if you posted your exact itinerary. The biking locations you listed are all significantly far from each other. Depending on exactly where you plan to go, and for how long, I can't imagine that you could do all that in 3 weeks unless it's a canned tour where the logistics are planned for you. The weather might also be a factor in how far you can bike in a day.

Perhaps the town(s?) you will leave from on your bikes will have an underground parking facility where you could safely leave your car for an extended period of time. It will cost several € per day, but so would parking at a train station, if it is even possible to do that.

We parked in an underground garage in Aix-en-Provence for a week 3 years ago. We took the car out a few times, so I don't know if leaving it there would have been cheaper. I suspect not. We paid about €15 per day.

Based on my experience you will likely need to Google parking and the individual town(s). Then figure out the German and French information. There might be long term passes of some kind, but in Aix those were too long for us.

I think you can probably find safe, but reasonable may not go with that.

Thanks for your long reply. I guess I wasn't clear - our trip is 2.5 months, with on-our-own bike trips of 1 to 3 weeks in the places I mentioned. It's a good idea to contact each town, and I will do that as we travel but there is so much about bike touring I was hoping there might be a website that provided links and talked about the parking issue in general or at least for France and Germany. I'm sure it will all work out - I was just hoping for an easier answer.

I guess I don't understand why you want a car for all of those weeks. Why pay for a rental, plus parking if you aren't using the car? Have you considered using a train instead to get to those various spots?

There are tons of bike routes all over Europe. http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/cycling/cycling.html

Best would be to park the car at a private place for a reasonable fee and store the luggage somewhere inside. You can also think about long term parking at airports, but will the luggage safe enough inside the car? Hopefully the hotel of your last stay will be prepared to take care of it for the period.

Long term open air parking for instance near Luxembourg Airport costs €35 to €50 per week. To Trier / Mosel is some 40km, or more closer Ehnen / Mosel some 20km.

Yes, I think the hotel is the only answer. I've already contacted some and some say no problem to leave the car - I was just hoping for something more central and not requiring a reservation. Thanks. As for the trains... we have taken trains with bikes with loaded panniers (for 2 months of traveling) all over Europe and know all the good, bad and ugly of it. (that's why we are trying something different this year). You just never know when you are going to be faced with 4 steep steps up, a vertical hanger in a crowded car, 3 flights of stairs up and down between tracks, or getting bumped even with a reservation. Great for the young, difficult for 70 year olds. Anyone interested in bikes on trains in Europe I have plenty of advice but I was asking about extended parking.

Mea,

Getting in contact with members of a local bike association can be a great way to get the help you need. Likely they can answer your questions better for your specific needs and most of the time have good tips.

Maybe this can be of use to find a bike association:
http://www.ferienland-cochem.de/nextshopcms/show.asp?lang=en&e1=59&ssid=1
http://www.ferienland-cochem.de/contact.htm

Good luck!

Thanks for a great idea, that I hadn't thought of... cycle clubs. In the Netherlands most people speak English and everything about cycle-touring is friendly and easy ... we always start and end there with plenty of time for exploring new areas. We also tend to meet Dutch friends where ever we go... we have friends we met in the Maldives 35 years ago that we still visit! We have a favorite Local Bike Shop in Beverwijk who takes care of us very well and always spend a week or so in Haarlem getting ready for touring. Things get a little harder once we pedal across the border but we have figured out most issues. This parking issue is new for us as we have never rented a car before. We are always on the lookout for ways to make independent bicycle touring easier and less intimidating for seniors, families and others who are cautious about heading out alone. I'll try talking to German and French cycle touring clubs to see if they have parking recommendations. Good idea. In addition to the parking, we wish it was easier to find campgrounds with cabins or other rental accommodations - the French have a lot, but hard to find via search. The Germans - not so many and even harder to find. Don't know about Austria yet. There are lots of campground networks, but none we've found have rental accommodations as a search criteria. Our main sites for accommodations are VriendenopdeFiets, airbnb, bettundbike... anyone have other recos? Thanks also for a great link about cochem that I hadn't found before.